The Kebbi State governor, Atiku Bagudu, said on Friday night some of the abducted students and staff of the Federal Government College in Birnin-Yauri had been rescued by troops. The governor disclosed this to journalists in Birnin-Kebbi, the state capital. But a security source told journalists Friday night that some students escaped after security agents launched an aerial bombardment on the bandits’ hideouts. He added that at least 80 bandits were killed in the operation. The source added that contrary to reports that the students were rescued, they took advantage of the military bombardment and escaped from the criminals’ den He, however, refused to give the exact number of students that escaped but said a handful of them had fled from the bandits. The military had earlier confirmed the rescue of five students and one teacher by the joint taskforce component of the operation Hadari Daji. The Deputy Force Commander of the JTF, North-West, Air Commodore Abubakar Abdulkadir, who disclosed this in a communiqué, said the troops came in contact with the bandits in the early hours of the day and engaged them in a gun duel. He said one of the students died in the operation.